Broadcast seed-sower



(No ModelJ 2 Sheets-Sheet I. E. C. TECKTONIUS.

BROADCAST SEED SOWER.

No. 421,634. Patented Peb. 18, 1890.

Jn.' Ilm N. PETERS. Phnlutnbognphnr, Wan-mgm". D. C.

(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. C. TEOKTONIUS.

BROADCAST SEED soWBR. f No. 421,634. l Patented Feb. 18, 1890.

qui) l l 1E [I I I I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I I `N1TED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

EMIL C. TECKTONIUS, OF RACINE, VISCONSIN. l

BROADCAST SEED-SOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,634fdated February 18, 1890,

Application filed November 29, 1889. Serial No. 332,000. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, EMIL C. TEcxToNiUs, of Racine, in the county of Racine, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Broadcast Seed- Sowers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to broadcast seedsowers; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction, as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is avertical central section through my device on the line l l of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a like section, taken at right angles to the foregoing, on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 and partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a plan view of my device partly broken away and with some of the upper parts shown in section. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the distributer, and Fig. 5 a plan view of the force-wheel casing and hopper-seat.

A represents the tail-board of a wagon to which my device is attached.

B is the platform, east solidly with depending bracket-armsb b, through which by means 0f bolts a a, it is secured to the tail-board, said platform having a rear downward lug B', a bolt b passing also therethrough and through the said tail-board for additional security, and being cast with a strengthening rib or iiange b2 and a similar flange b4 at the rear, which latter ange, preferably, just iits over the inner upper edge of the tail-board and clamps the latter between said flange and the bracketarms b b. The said platform B has an elevated central circular flange B2, having an inturned annular rim B3 surrounding a central Opening, and this annular rim is strengthened as at b3 b3 on opposite sides and there perforated for the passage of screw-bolts cl d, as hereinafter explained.

D is a circular vdisk or plate having annular iianges or ribs d d2 on its under side so 'as to just fit over and against the outer and inner edges of the described annular rim B3, and enable said disk to turn on said rim, the said disk having arc slots cl3 d3 in line with the perforations in the strengthening-bosses b3 b3 in the rim below, which slots receive the described screw-bolts d el, which latter are provided with thumb-nuts d4 Cltin order to secure the disk and rim together after the former has been adjusted to the desired position. The said disk is cast with a vertical hub D for the distributer and force-wheel shaft E, and on its under side with a rib D2, which has a channel l5 cored therethrough communicating with the bore of the hub D and with a perforated boss el on the upper side of the disk, to afford a convenient means of oiling the said vertical shaft E.

D3 represents an inward-proj ecting double spout, having-flanges Z7 cllsecured to the under side of the disk, as by screws d8 cls, j ust beneath an opening D4 in said disk. At the outer end of said opening is an upper-inclinedridge D5, and at the Opposite inner end of said opening is a downward-inclined edge D6 with two notches dg d cut therein, preferably V-shaped, as shown, and from the corners of the inner edge D6 there extends back and around the central portion of the disk D on the upper side thereof a ridge or rib d10 of the outline shown in Fig. 3. p

F is a castingcomprising the casing for the force-feed wheel G and the seed and the seat for the hopper H. The lower part of this casingis of the shape best shown in section in Fig. 3, iitting snugly outside the ridge or rib d10' at the base and having ianges f ff, whereby it is secured to the upper side of the disk D by screws f f f. The rear end of said casing extends, as shown at f2 f2, along the sides of the opening D4, while the upper part f3 extends back of and around the line of the casing proper to form the hopper-seat,

as stated, and is separated from the lower part by a iioor or plate F', having an opening F2, as shown best in Fig. 5, the wall which forms the hopper-seat f3 being generally circular in outline, but square in the rear, as shown at f4, just inside which the iioo'r or lplate F is rounded up across, as 'shown'at'f to provide room for the pintle or hinge journal i of a door I, hinged as shownA to said pintle an'd -v adapted to normally close the rear of the ing F, which is otherwise open betwee'nthe ends f2 f2 of the lower part and below the'rear part of the iioor or plate F of saidcasingk L IOO J is an arm extending upward at an, angle f from one side edge of the door l and provided with a notch or bend j t-o receive the ridge D5 When said arm is brought down horizontally on the disk D, and the said door forced inward against the inclined inner edge D6 of the opening D4. The rear wall f4 of the part F is provided with vertical Ways f6 f6, receiving between them the rear end of the arm k (secured by bolts k3 k3) of a slotted quadrant K, projecting downward and provided with a suitable scale or scales, as shown in Fig. 1, the arm J being provided with a screW-boltj, whose shank moves in the said slot 7c in the quadrant, being secured to any desired adjustment (and consequent inclination of the door I) by a thumb-nut 702, as shown in Fig. 3.

The vertical shaft E, already named, carries at its upper end the force-feed Wheel G, having its blades g g set tangentially around its hub, as best shown in Fig. 3, said Wheel revolving in the direction of the arrows shown, adjacent to its hub, and hence forcing the seed evenly from one edge or side of the opening D* to the opposite edge or side, said Wheel G being secured to the said upper end of the shaft E by a set-screw g', as shown.

M is the hub of the distributer or fan secured to the vertical shaft E beneath the double spout D3 and cast with a pinion M, which meshes with the usual bevel-Wheel L in thel ordinary manner common to broadcast seed-sewers of this class, and which I do not deem requires furt-her illustration or explanation. The blades m m of the distributer incline upward from their center to their ends and have bottom plates m m of the sameinclination extending to the ends of the blades and there having' straight outer edges, the said bottom plates being extended near the hub M, so as to form in eifect in the illustration given the four quarters m2 m2 m2 m2 of a circular concave plate having segmental vertical outer guards or flanges m3 extending between one vertical blade 'm and the straight outer edge of the bottom plate m of the next blade m, and thence continuing in a straight line along the straight outer edge of said plate m in a vertical flange or guard m4 for about half the distance or a little more between the end of the said segmental iiange m3 and the extreme outer end of the said bottom plate m. The segmental iianges m3 are in a circular line just outside the lower line of the double spout D3, and hence will always receive the seed on the concave plate formed by the described sections m2, while the described construction of the blades and their bottom plates and outer flanges produces in effect a series of upwardly-inclined spouts and prevents the seed from dropping oif the distributer adjacent to its hub. The blades fm, are further cut out adjacent to said hub M, as shown at m5 m5, the bottom of said cut-out portion being on a lower plane than that of the top of the outer segmental flange ma, so that the seed will not be forced out over the top of the latter even if it is forced over the top of the inner ends of the blades on; or, if preferred, the blades m may be made of a less height than the segmental flanges m3 to accomplish the same result.

The operation of my device Will be understood from the foregoing description of its construction, the double spout being practically the same as that shown in my patent, No. L17,115, dated December 10, 1839, and the shape of the lower portion of my present seed or force feed-Wheel casing being like- Wise the same except that the rear end of my present easing F is open and closed by a hinged door instead of being always closed, as in said former application.

My described arrangement of hinged door is designed to accommodate my device to the different kinds of seed to be sown. For instance, with a very iine grass-seed I would 'close the door I as tightly as possible, so that said seed would only escape through the notches (Z9 d, whereas with a coarser seed the said door would be opened more or less and fixed in the desired adjustment by means of the slotted quadrant K, arm J, screw-boltj, and thumb-nut 7a2. Further, the disk D and attached double spout D8 maybe turned in any direction desired, so as to sow to the right or left, or against the wind if necessary, and secured in such position by means of the are slots cl3, screw-bolts d, and thumb-nuts d. The advantages of my present construction of distributer and force-feed Wheel have already been set forth hereinbefore. By making the platform B and its bracket-arms b l) all in one casting With the described strengthening rims or iianges, I secure a better and stronger article and one more readily attached to the Wagon tail-board.

l-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a seeder, a supporting-platform consisting of a plate having a raised central portion, provided with a circular opening and formed With exterior strengthening-flanges, and doWnWard-depending bracket-arms near its rear portion, all cast in one piece, substantially as set forth.

2. In a seeder, the combination, with a plate or platform having a central opening, a circular disk or plate having arc slots, and a feed-opening, and adapted to' have rotary motion upon said first-named plate, adjusting-screws passingthrough one plate and the said arc'slots in the other plate, and provided With securing-nuts, a feed-Wheel, and seed casing surrounding the same on said movable plate in communication with said feedopening, and a spout fixed to the under side of said plate beneath said feed-opening, substantially as set forth.

3. In a seeder, the combination of a plate having a feed-opening therethrough, a seedcasing on said plate having an open rear end communicating with said opening, a feed- Wheel in said casing, and a hinged door pro vided with an adjustable securingdevice and IOO ITO

IIS

adapted to close the rear opening in the casing more or less, substantially as set forth.

4. In a seeder, the combination of a plate having a feed-opening therethrough, a spout secured beneath said opening, a seed-casing on said plate having an open rear end communicating with said opening, a feed-Wheel in said casing, a slotted quadrant supported adjacent to said casing, a doorhinged to said casing and adapted to close said rear opening therein, and an arm projecting fromsaid door and carrying a pin or bolt in adjustable engagement with said slotted quadrant, and a securing device for holding said arm and door in the desired adjustment, substantially as set forth.

5. In a seeder, the combination of a plate having a feed-opening therethrough provided with an inclined and notched-out inner edge, a seed-casing on said plate having an open rear end communicating with said opening, a feed-wheel in said casing, and a hinged door provided with an adjustable securing device and adapted to engage with the outer edge of the said inclined edge of the feed-opening or to be set at any desired distance therefrom, substantially as set forth.

6. In a seeder, the combination of a plate having a feed-opening therethrough, a seedcasing and hopper-seat on said plate having an extended open rear end communicating with said feed-opening, a force-feed wheelV provided With tangentially-arranged blades in said seed-casing, a plate separating the casing proper from the hopper-seat and having a seed-opening therein, and a hinged door provided with an adjustable securing device and adapted to close the rear opening in the casing more or less, substantially as set forth.

7. In a seeder, the combination of a plate having a feed-opening therethrough and a vertical hub on the under side, a seed-casing on` said plate communicating with said opening, a vertical shaft extending up through said hub and carrying a feed-Wheel in said casing, a rib on the under side of said plate having a channel communicating with the bore of said hub, and a boss on the upper side of said plate outside of said casing and having a perforation communicating with said channel, substantially as set forth.

8. In a seeder, the combination, with a plate having a feed-opening therethrough and a centrally-inclined feed-spout beneath the same, a seed-casing on said plate communicating with said feed-opening, and a vertical shaft carrying at its upper end a feed-wheel within said casing, of a fan or distributor secured to said shaft below said spout having a series of blades extending upward from their center to their ends having corresponding bottom plates with vertical flanges, forming distributing-tubes, substantially as set forth.

9. In a seeder, the combination, with a plate having a feed-opening therethrough, and a centrally-inclined spout beneath the same, of a central shaft carrying a distributer having a hub and a series of vertical blades inclined upwardly from said hub to their outer ends, bottom plates secured thereto and extended near said hub to form the sections of a concave circular plate and thence extended in straight klines to the end of the said blades, and curved vertical iianges on the oute'r edge of said circular plate 'just outside the inner line of said spout, and thence extended in straight lines along the edges of the straight extensions of the bottom plates to a point intermediate between the curved portions and the ends of said bottom plates, the said curved portions rising to ahigher plane than the adjacent inner portions of the vertical blades, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsimin the-presence of two witnesses. v

EMIL C. TEOKTONIUS. Witnesses:

JOHN W. KNIGHT, ALBERT L. ANDERSON. 

